Cursillo Patience - Part 1 of 3

Hopefully you recall the definition of Cursillo as a method of spirituality. It is a way our souls are formed and informed. Sometimes Cursillo seems like boot camp. This part of the Cursillo is usually associated with the experience of the first night of each Cursillo when there is no talking and sleep often comes with difficulty because it takes place in what seems like a low class barracks. The experience, as every veteran Cursillista knows, continues as they are called to a fuller participation in the life of the Church as a member of a GR, a provider of Ultreya hospitality, an office holder on the Secretariat or one of the many advisory offices within the Cursillo structure. This is the formational part of Cursillo.

The informational part of Cursillo also begins with the initial weekend experience as the Candidates listen to talks, digest them, process them within their group, and report their understanding of the topics they have heard. The informational part of Cursillo continues, often under the personal commitment of the Cursillista as they study the story of God and creation.

This volley of formational and informational activities enables Cursillistas to act on behalf of others in a way that has salvific impact. Cursillistas do what Jesus foretold when he said that what he does, we shall do, and greater things than these because he goes to the Father (Jn. 14: 12). Cursillistas believe these things because they have been told so by the Lord, and because they have seen him transfigured during their Cursillo. However, this happens at a cost. It is that cost that is the context of Cursillo patience.

Patience is the willingness to suffer for the welfare of another. Christian patience has a note of mercy within it. Mercy is love’s readiness to be seized by the suffering of another. We call patience a virtue because it is not ours by nature. It does not come to us easily or instinctively. It is learned behavior. Usually, we learn to be patient if we have patience modeled for us by our parents. The idea of patience is expanded far beyond our immediate family to our larger family as we move from the home of our parent’s to the home of our citizenship. When we correctly identify our citizenship as a participation in the Kingdom of God, our patience likewise becomes an option for us in Christian charity.

This is the first dimension of patience, the one we are most familiar with because we are immersed in it. But it is not the only dimension. There is a need for the patience of the privileged. We hear this idea expressed when quoting the gospel of Luke (12: 48) that to whom much has been given, much will be demanded. Often this seems to us to be an unfair burden. What keeps it from being unfair is Jesus’ assurance that whatever is our wealth is also the evidence of God’s confidence in us that we are trustworthy stewards. As stewards, we use the unlimited wealth of God’s Kingdom to advance the revelation of that same Kingdom.

So how can we understand Cursillo patience? What is it about patience that makes it identifiable as a Cursillo charism, that is a gift given in the service of others? Let me use a passage from the gospel of St. Mark (9: 42) as the context of this idea. It reads: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe [in me] to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone was put around his neck and he was thrown into the sea.” It is the avoidance of the cause of another’s sin that I would like to present as the beginning of Cursillo patience.

Cursillistas remember their weekend as a blessing. It is a gift that is a treasured responsibility. A valued gift I will write more about in Cursillo Patience – part two.